Orthogonal resource selection transmit diversity and resource assignment

ABSTRACT

Methods of allocating orthogonal resources of a wireless communication network to a user equipment (UE) that uses transmit diversity are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, the UE is configured to transmit a reference symbol and a modulated symbol on multiple orthogonal resources on an antenna. The method includes: selecting, by the UE, a first and a second orthogonal resource, respectively, from a plurality of orthogonal resources according to the state of information bits to be communicated by the UE; and transmitting, by the UE, the reference and data symbols on the first and the second orthogonal resource, respectively, on one antenna. The first and the second resource are different for at least one of the states of the information bits. The first and the second resource are both in the same physical resource block.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/522,434, filed Aug. 11, 2011; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/541,848, filed Sep. 30, 2011; and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/555,572, filed Nov. 4, 2011. The disclosuresof the above applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed in general to communication systemsand methods for operating same. In one aspect, the present disclosurerelates to systems and methods for orthogonal resource selectiontransmit diversity and resource assignment.

BACKGROUND

Because the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Standard Release 8 (hereinafter“Rel-8”) frame structure 2 (time-division duplex [TDD]) may have manymore downlink subframes than uplink subframes and because each of thedownlink subframes carries up to two transport blocks, Rel-8 TDDsupports transmission of up to 4 Ack/Nack (A/N) bits in a subframe. Ifmore than 4 A/N bits are required, the spatial bundling in which twoAck/Nack bits of the same downlink subframe are bundled is supported.These 4 Ack/Nack bits can be transmitted using channel selection. Morerecently, LTE Release 10 (hereinafter “Rd-10”) uses channel selectionfor up to 4 Ack/Nack bits to support carrier aggregation for both framestructures, i.e., frequency division duplex (FDD) and TDD. Therefore,the use of channel selection for Ack/Nack feedback is of growinginterest.

Ack/Nack bits are carried in LTE, using physical uplink control channel(PUCCH) format “1a” and “1b” on PUCCH resources, as described below.Because no more than 2 bits can be carried in these PUCCH formats, 2extra information bits are needed for carrying 4 Ack/Nack bits. Theseextra two bits can be conveyed through channel selection.

A user equipment (UE), sometimes hereinafter referred to as a “clientnode,” encodes information using channel selection by selecting a PUCCHresource to transmit on. Channel selection uses 4 PUCCH resources toconvey these two bits. This can be described using the data in Table 1below:

TABLE 1 PUCCH format 1b channel selection Codewords 0 to 15 RRes DRes0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 11011110 1111 0 0 1 j −j −1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 j −j −1 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 j −j −1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 1 j −j −1

Each column of the table indicates a combination of Ack/Nack bits (or a“codeword”) to be transmitted. Each row of the table represents a PUCCHresource. Each cell contains a QPSK symbol transmitted on the PUCCHresource to indicate the codeword. The “DRes” column indicates whichPUCCH resource carries the QPSK symbol, and the “RRes” column indicatesthe PUCCH resource used to carry the reference symbol. It is noted thatthe data and reference symbol resources are the same for Rel-8 channelselection. Note that each column of the table contains only one non-zeroentry, since channel selection requires that only one resource istransmitted upon at a time on one transmission path. Transmitting on onetransmission path maintains the good peak to average powercharacteristics of the signals carried on the PUCCH. The term“transmission path” refers to an RF chain that contains at least onepower amplifier and is connected to one antenna.

For example, when Ack/Nack bits ‘0110’ are to be transmitted, the UE cantransmit the QPSK data symbol ‘−j’ using PUCCH resource ‘1.’ Thereference signal transmission can also be on PUCCH resource ‘1’.

LTE carries Ack/Nack signaling on format 1a and 1b of the physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH), as specified in Rel 10. An example ofthe subframe structure of PUCCH formats 1a and 1b with normal cyclicprefix is shown in FIG. 1. Each format 1a/1b PUCCH can be in a subframemade up of two slots. The same modulation symbol “d” can be used in bothslots. Without channel selection, formats 1a and 1b set carries one andtwo Ack/Nack bits, respectively. These bits are encoded into themodulation symbol “d,” using BPSK or QPSK modulation, depending onwhether one or two Ack/Nack bits are used.

Each data modulation symbol, d, is spread with a sequence, if r_(u,v)^(α)(n) such that it is by a 12 samples long, which is the number ofsubcarriers in an LTE resource block in most cases. (For example, thoseof skill in the art will understand that a Multimedia Broadcastmulticast service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) transmission can use24 subcarriers in a resource block when the subcarriers are spaced 7.5kHz apart.). Next, the spread samples are mapped to the 12 subcarriersthe PUCCH is to occupy and then converted to the time domain with anIDFT. Since the PUCCH is rarely transmitted simultaneously with otherphysical channels in LTE, the subcarriers that do not correspond toPUCCH are set to zero. Four replicas of the spread signal are then eachmultiplied with one element of an orthogonal cover sequence w_(p)(m),where mε{0, 1, 2, 3} corresponds to each one of 4 data bearing OFDMsymbols in the slot. There are 3 reference symbols (R1, R2, and R3) ineach slot that allow channel estimation for coherent demodulation offormats 1a/1b.

There can be 12 orthogonal spreading sequences (corresponding to r_(u,v)^(α)(i) with αε{0, 1, . . . , 11} indicating the cyclic shift) and oneof them is used to spread each data symbol. Furthermore, in Rel-8, thereare 3 orthogonal cover sequences w_(p) (m) with pε{0,1,2} and mε{0, 1,2, 3}. Each spreading sequence is used with one of the orthogonal coversequences to form an orthogonal resource. Therefore, up to 12*3=36orthogonal resources are available per each resource block of the PUCCH.The total amount of resources that can carry Ack/Nack is then 36 timesthe number of resource blocks (RBs) allocated for format 1/1a/1b.

Each orthogonal resource can carry one Ack/Nack modulation symbol “d,”and, therefore, up to 36 UEs may transmit an Ack/Nack symbol on the sameOFDM resource elements without mutually interfering. Similarly, whendistinct orthogonal resources are transmitted from multiple antennas bya UE, they will tend to not interfere with each other, or with differentorthogonal resources transmitted from other UEs. When there is nochannel selection, the orthogonal resource used by the UE is known bythe eNB. As discussed below, in case of channel selection, apredetermined set of the information bits determines the orthogonalresource to be utilized. The eNB detects that set of the informationbits by recognizing what orthogonal resource is carrying otherinformation bits.

Orthogonal resources used for reference symbols are generated in asimilar manner as data symbols. They are also generated using a cyclicshift and an orthogonal cover sequence applied to multiple referencesignal uplink modulation symbols. Because there are a different numberof reference and data modulation symbols in a slot, the orthogonal coversequences are different length for data and for reference signals.Nevertheless, there are an equal number of orthogonal resourcesavailable for data and for reference signals. Therefore, a single indexcan be used to refer to the two orthogonal resources used by a UE forboth the data and reference signals, and this has been used since Rel-8.This index is signaled in Rel-8 as a PUCCH resource index, and isindicated in the LTE specifications as the variable n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾. Theaforementioned LTE specifications include: (1) 3GPP TS 36.213 V10.1.0,“3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group RadioAccess Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA);Physical Layer Procedures (Release 10)”, March, 2011; (hereinafter“Reference 1”) and (2) 3GPP TS 36.211 V10.1.0, “3rd GenerationPartnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network;Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channelsand Modulation (Release 10)”, March, 2011. (hereinafter “Reference 2”).This index indicates both the RB and the orthogonal resource used tocarry data and reference signals, and the indexed resource is thereforereferred to as a ‘PUCCH resource’ in 3GPP parlance.

One cyclic shift may be used to transmit all symbols in a slot(including both data and reference symbols) associated with an antenna.In this case, the value of α is constant over the slot. However, LTERel-8 also supports cyclic shift hopping, where α varies over the slot.Cyclic shift hopping transmissions are synchronized within a cell suchthat UEs following the cell-specific hopping pattern do not mutuallyinterfere. If neighbor cells also use cyclic shift hopping, then foreach symbol in a slot, different UEs in the neighbor cells will tend tointerfere with a UE in a serving cell. This provides an “interferenceaveraging” behavior that can mitigate the case where one or a smallnumber of neighbor cell UEs strongly interfere with a UE in the servingcell. Because the same number of non-mutually interfering PUCCHresources are available in a cell regardless of whether cyclic shifthopping is used, PUCCH resource can be treated equivalently for thehopping and non-hopping cases. Therefore, hereinafter when reference ismade to a PUCCH resource, it may be either hopped or non-hopped.

The PUCCH format 1a/1b structure shown in FIG. 1 varies, depending on afew special cases. One variant of the structure that is important tosome Tx diversity designs for format 1a/1b is that the last symbol ofslot 1 may be dropped (not transmitted), in order to not interfere withSRS transmissions from other UEs.

In LTE Rel-10, carrier aggregation up to 4 Ack/Nack bits may beindicated using channel selection. The PUCCH resource that a UE is touse may be signaled using a combination of implicit and explicitsignaling. In this case, one or more resources are signaled implicitlyusing the location of the scheduling grant for the UE on the PDCCH ofits primary cell (PCell), and one or more resources may be indicatedusing the Ack/Nack resource indicator (ARI) bits contained in the grantfor the UE on the PDCCH of one of the UE's secondary cells (SCells).This is shown in FIG. 2. While it is not shown in FIG. 2, those of skillin the art will understand that it is also possible for all PUCCHresources to be allocated with implicit signaling. This occurs when aPDCCH scheduling PDSCH on SCell is transmitted on PCell with crosscarrier scheduling.

UEs may be scheduled on a set of control channel elements (CCEs) thatare specific to that UE only. This is indicated in FIG. 2 as the UESpecific Search Space (UESS). The UE Specific Search Space is normallydifferent in each subframe.

LTE PUCCH resources can be implicitly signaled by the index of the firstCCE occupied by the grant transmitted to the UE on the PCell PDCCH(labeled n_(CCE,i)=M in FIG. 2). Up to two PUCCH resources may bedetermined this way in Rel-10. When two resources are implicitlysignaled, the second PUCCH resource index is calculated using the nextCCE after the first CCE detected by the UE (i.e., n_(CCE,i)=M+1, asshown in the figure). As discussed in section 10.1 of 3GPP TS 36.213V10.1.0, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical SpecificationGroup Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA); Physical Layer Procedures (Release 10)”, March, 2011, thefirst and second implicit PUCCH resource indices are mapped from thefirst CCE index using n_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE,i)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ andn_(PUCCH,i+1) ⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE,i)+1+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, respectively, and so theyare adjacent resources. Due to the way PUCCH resources are indexed inLTE, this means that they will typically share the same PUCCH physicalresource block (PRB) unless one of the two resources is near the firstor the last resource in a PRB.

Because the UE Specific Search Space varies subframe by subframe, thePUCCH resource mapped to by its CCEs also varies. Therefore, theimplicit resource can be in multiple different RBs depending on thesubframe.

In LTE Rel-10, two bits of the PDCCH on the SCell are used as ARI bits.Also, up to two PUCCH resources are indicated by PDCCH of the SCell.This means that 4 combinations of PUCCH resources are indicated by ARI,and each combination comprises one or two PUCCH resources.

In contrast to implicit signaling, explicit PUCCH resources (of whichone is addressed by the ARI) are semi-statically allocated to each UE,and therefore do not move between PUCCH RBs unless the UE isreconfigured using higher layer signaling. Since implicitly signaledPUCCH resource occupies different RBs on a subframe-by-subframe basis,but explicitly signaled PUCCH resource occupies the same RB until the UEis reconfigured, the explicit and implicit PUCCH resources will commonlynot be in the same PUCCH RB.

The pairs of explicit resources corresponding to each Ack/Nack ResourceIndicator (ARI) state are independently signaled such that they can bepositioned anywhere in the PUCCH resource. This can be implemented usingthe RRC signaling of PUCCH-Config information elements as disclosed insection 6.3.2 of 3GPP TS 36.331 V10.1.0, “3rd Generation PartnershipProject; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control(RRC); Protocol specification (Release 10),” March, 2011. This meansthat the PUCCH resources can be, but are not necessarily, configured tobe in the same PRB.

Space Time Resource Selection Diversity (STRSD) codes can encode part oftheir information by selecting the PUCCH resource used for the referencesignal. This means that the data bearing OFDM symbols and referencesignal bearing OFDM symbols can be in different PUCCH resource blocks.(This is not possible in LTE Rel-8, since the reference signal and dataare always on the same PUCCH resource.) If the reference signal resourceis in a different RB than the data resource, it can travel through achannel with a different response than the channel the data travelsthrough. In that case, the reference signal may not allow good channelestimation for the data, leading to much higher error rates and poorerperformance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional subframe having thestructure of PUCCH formats 1a and 1b with normal cyclic prefix;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of conventional explicit and implicitsignaling for designating PUCCH for use by a user equipment device;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a communication system for implementing oneor more of embodiments disclosed herein;

FIG. 4 shows a wireless-enabled communications environment including anembodiment of a client node as implemented in accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary client node as implementedwith a digital signal processor (DSP) in accordance with embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a software environment that may be implemented by a digitalsignal processor (DSP) in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows an implementation of aliased PUCCH resource mapping inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates the signaling of Ack/Nack Resource Indicator (ARI)resources in multiple physical resource blocks in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. Whilevarious details are set forth in the following description, it will beappreciated that the present embodiments may be practiced without thesespecific details, and that numerous implementation-specific decisionsmay be made to the embodiments described herein to achieve theinventor's specific goals, such as compliance with process technology ordesign-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. While such a development effort might be complex andtime-consuming, it would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for thoseof skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. For example,selected aspects are shown in block diagram and flowchart form, ratherthan in detail, in order to avoid limiting or obscuring the presentembodiments. In addition, some portions of the detailed descriptionsprovided herein are presented in terms of algorithms or operations ondata within a computer memory. Such descriptions and representations areused by those skilled in the art to describe and convey the substance oftheir work to others skilled in the art.

As used herein, the terms “component,” “system” and the like areintended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware,software, a combination of hardware and software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a processor, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, or a computer. By way of illustration,both an application running on a computer and the computer itself can bea component. One or more components may reside within a process orthread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer ordistributed between two or more computers.

In the present disclosure, various abbreviations are used and defined inthe text of this disclosure or in the Appendix at the end of thisdisclosure. However, if there is an abbreviation not defined in thedisclosure, the definition of the abbreviation can be readily found in3GPP LTE standard specifications.

Overview of Wireless Communication Network

As likewise used herein, the term “node” broadly refers to a connectionpoint, such as a redistribution point or a communication endpoint, of acommunication environment, such as a network. Accordingly, such nodesrefer to an active electronic device capable of sending, receiving, orforwarding information over a communications channel. Examples of suchnodes include data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE), such as a modem,hub, bridge or switch, and data terminal equipment (DTE), such as ahandset, a printer or a host computer (e.g., a router, workstation orserver). Examples of local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN)nodes include computers, packet switches, cable modems, Data SubscriberLine (DSL) modems, and wireless LAN (WLAN) access points. Examples ofInternet or Intranet nodes include host computers identified by anInternet Protocol (IP) address, bridges and WLAN access points.Likewise, examples of nodes in cellular communication include basestations, relays, base station controllers, radio network controllers,home location registers, Gateway GPRS Support Nodes (GGSN), Serving GPRSSupport Nodes (SGSN), Serving Gateways (S-GW), and Packet Data NetworkGateways (PDN-GW).

Other examples of nodes include client nodes, server nodes, peer nodesand access nodes. As used herein, a client node may refer to wirelessdevices such as mobile telephones, smart phones, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), handheld devices, portable computers, tabletcomputers, and similar devices or other user equipment (UE) that hastelecommunications capabilities. Such client nodes may likewise refer toa mobile, wireless device, or conversely, to devices that have similarcapabilities that are not generally transportable, such as desktopcomputers, set-top boxes, or sensors. Likewise, a server node, as usedherein, refers to an information processing device (e.g., a hostcomputer), or series of information processing devices, that performinformation processing requests submitted by other nodes. As likewiseused herein, a peer node may sometimes serve as client node, and atother times, a server node. In a peer-to-peer or overlay network, a nodethat actively routes data for other networked devices as well as itselfmay be referred to as a supernode.

An access node, as used herein, refers to a node that provides a clientnode access to a communication environment. Examples of access nodesinclude cellular network base stations and wireless broadband (e.g.,WiFi, WiMAX, etc) access points, which provide corresponding cell andWLAN coverage areas. As used herein, a macrocell is used to generallydescribe a traditional cellular network cell coverage area. Suchmacrocells are typically found in rural areas, along highways, or inless populated areas. As likewise used herein, a microcell refers to acellular network cell with a smaller coverage area than that of amacrocell. Such micro cells are typically used in a densely populatedurban area. Likewise, as used herein, a picocell refers to a cellularnetwork coverage area that is less than that of a microcell. An exampleof the coverage area of a picocell may be a large office, a shoppingmall, or a train station. A femtocell, as used herein, currently refersto the smallest commonly accepted area of cellular network coverage. Asan example, the coverage area of a femtocell is sufficient for homes orsmall offices.

In general, a coverage area of less than two kilometers typicallycorresponds to a microcell, 200 meters or less for a picocell, and onthe order of 10 meters for a femtocell. As likewise used herein, aclient node communicating with an access node associated with amacrocell is referred to as a “macrocell client.” Likewise, a clientnode communicating with an access node associated with a microcell,picocell, or femtocell is respectively referred to as a “microcellclient,” “picocell client,” or “femtocell client.”

The term “article of manufacture” (or alternatively, “computer programproduct”) as used herein is intended to encompass a computer programaccessible from any computer-readable device or media. For example,computer readable media can include but are not limited to magneticstorage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.),optical disks such as a compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk(DVD), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, etc.).

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Those of skill in the artwill recognize many modifications may be made to this configurationwithout departing from the scope, spirit or intent of the claimedsubject matter. Furthermore, the disclosed subject matter may beimplemented as a system, method, apparatus, or article of manufactureusing standard programming and engineering techniques to producesoftware, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control acomputer or processor-based device to implement aspects detailed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a system 100 suitable for implementingone or more embodiments disclosed herein. In various embodiments, thesystem 100 comprises a processor 110, which may be referred to as acentral processor unit (CPU) or digital signal processor (DSP), networkconnectivity interfaces 120, random access memory (RAM) 130, read onlymemory (ROM) 140, secondary storage 150, and input/output (I/O) devices160. In some embodiments, some of these components may not be present ormay be combined in various combinations with one another or with othercomponents not shown. These components may be located in a singlephysical entity or in more than one physical entity. Any actionsdescribed herein as being taken by the processor 110 might be taken bythe processor 110 alone or by the processor 110 in conjunction with oneor more components shown or not shown in FIG. 3.

The processor 110 executes instructions, codes, computer programs, orscripts that it might access from the network connectivity interfaces120, RAM 130, or ROM 140. While only one processor 110 is shown,multiple processors may be present. Thus, while instructions may bediscussed as being executed by a processor 110, the instructions may beexecuted simultaneously, serially, or otherwise by one or multipleprocessors 110 implemented as one or more CPU chips.

In various embodiments, the network connectivity interfaces 120 may takethe form of modems, modem banks, Ethernet devices, universal serial bus(USB) interface devices, serial interfaces, token ring devices, fiberdistributed data interface (FDDI) devices, wireless local area network(WLAN) devices, radio transceiver devices such as code division multipleaccess (CDMA) devices, global system for mobile communications (GSM)radio transceiver devices, long term evolution (LTE) radio transceiverdevices, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX)devices, and/or other well-known interfaces for connecting to networks,including Personal Area Networks (PANs) such as Bluetooth. These networkconnectivity interfaces 120 may enable the processor 110 to communicatewith the Internet or one or more telecommunications networks or othernetworks from which the processor 110 might receive information or towhich the processor 110 might output information.

The network connectivity interfaces 120 may also be capable oftransmitting or receiving data wirelessly in the form of electromagneticwaves, such as radio frequency signals or microwave frequency signals.Information transmitted or received by the network connectivityinterfaces 120 may include data that has been processed by the processor110 or instructions that are to be executed by processor 110. The datamay be ordered according to different sequences as may be desirable foreither processing or generating the data or transmitting or receivingthe data.

In various embodiments, the RAM 130 may be used to store volatile dataand instructions that are executed by the processor 110. The ROM 140shown in FIG. 3 may likewise be used to store instructions and data thatis read during execution of the instructions. The secondary storage 150is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and maybe used for non-volatile storage of data or as an overflow data storagedevice if RAM 130 is not large enough to hold all working data.Secondary storage 150 may likewise be used to store programs that areloaded into RAM 130 when such programs are selected for execution. TheI/O devices 160 may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LightEmitting Diode (LED) displays, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)displays, projectors, televisions, touch screen displays, keyboards,keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, cardreaders, paper tape readers, printers, video monitors, or otherwell-known input/output devices.

FIG. 4 shows a wireless-enabled communications environment including anembodiment of a client node as implemented in an embodiment. Thoughillustrated as a mobile phone, the client node 202 may take variousforms including a wireless handset, a pager, a smart phone, or apersonal digital assistant (PDA). In various embodiments, the clientnode 202 may also comprise a portable computer, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, or any computing device operable to perform datacommunication operations. Many suitable devices combine some or all ofthese functions. In some embodiments, the client node 202 is not ageneral purpose computing device like a portable, laptop, or tabletcomputer, but rather is a special-purpose communications device such asa telecommunications device installed in a vehicle. The client node 202may likewise be a device, include a device, or be included in a devicethat has similar capabilities but that is not transportable, such as adesktop computer, a set-top box, or a network node. In these and otherembodiments, the client node 202 may support specialized activities suchas gaming, inventory control, job control, task management functions,and so forth.

In various embodiments, the client node 202 includes a display 204. Inthese and other embodiments, the client node 202 may likewise include atouch-sensitive surface, a keyboard or other input keys 206 generallyused for input by a user. The input keys 206 may likewise be a full orreduced alphanumeric keyboard such as QWERTY, Dvorak, AZERTY, andsequential keyboard types, or a traditional numeric keypad with alphabetletters associated with a telephone keypad. The input keys 206 maylikewise include a trackwheel, an exit or escape key, a trackball, andother navigational or functional keys, which may be inwardly depressedto provide further input function. The client node 202 may likewisepresent options for the user to select, controls for the user toactuate, and cursors or other indicators for the user to direct.

The client node 202 may further accept data entry from the user,including numbers to dial or various parameter values for configuringthe operation of the client node 202. The client node 202 may furtherexecute one or more software or firmware applications in response touser commands. These applications may configure the client node 202 toperform various customized functions in response to user interaction.Additionally, the client node 202 may be programmed or configuredover-the-air (OTA), for example from a wireless network access node ‘A’210 through ‘n’ 216 (e.g., a base station), a server node 224 (e.g., ahost computer), or a peer client node 202.

Among the various applications executable by the client node 202 are aweb browser, which enables the display 204 to display a web page. Theweb page may be obtained from a server node 224 through a wirelessconnection with a wireless network 220. As used herein, a wirelessnetwork 220 broadly refers to any network using at least one wirelessconnection between two of its nodes. The various applications maylikewise be obtained from a peer client node 202 or other system over aconnection to the wireless network 220 or any other wirelessly-enabledcommunication network or system.

In various embodiments, the wireless network 220 comprises a pluralityof wireless sub-networks (e.g., cells with corresponding coverage areas)‘A’ 212 through ‘n’ 218. As used herein, the wireless sub-networks ‘A’212 through ‘n’ 218 may variously comprise a mobile wireless accessnetwork or a fixed wireless access network. In these and otherembodiments, the client node 202 transmits and receives communicationsignals, which are respectively communicated to and from the wirelessnetwork nodes ‘A’ 210 through ‘n’ 216 by wireless network antennas ‘A’208 through ‘n’ 214 (e.g., cell towers). In turn, the communicationsignals are used by the wireless network access nodes ‘A’ 210 through‘n’ 216 to establish a wireless communication session with the clientnode 202. As used herein, the network access nodes ‘A’ 210 through ‘n’216 broadly refer to any access node of a wireless network. As shown inFIG. 4, the wireless network access nodes ‘A’ 210 through ‘n’ 216 arerespectively coupled to wireless sub-networks ‘A’ 212 through ‘n’ 218,which are in turn connected to the wireless network 220.

In various embodiments, the wireless network 220 is coupled to aphysical network 222, such as the Internet. Via the wireless network 220and the physical network 222, the client node 202 has access toinformation on various hosts, such as the server node 224. In these andother embodiments, the server node 224 may provide content that may beshown on the display 204 or used by the client node processor 110 forits operations. Alternatively, the client node 202 may access thewireless network 220 through a peer client node 202 acting as anintermediary, in a relay type or hop type of connection. As anotheralternative, the client node 202 may be tethered and obtain its datafrom a linked device that is connected to the wireless network 212.Skilled practitioners of the art will recognize that many suchembodiments are possible and the foregoing is not intended to limit thespirit, scope, or intention of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary client node asimplemented with a digital signal processor (DSP) in accordance with oneembodiment. While various components of a client node 202 are depicted,various embodiments of the client node 202 may include a subset of thelisted components or additional components not listed. As shown in FIG.5, the client node 202 includes a DSP 302 and a memory 304. As shown,the client node 202 may further include an antenna and front end unit306, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 308, an analog basebandprocessing unit 310, a microphone 312, an earpiece speaker 314, aheadset port 316, a bus 318, such as a system bus or an input/output(I/O) interface bus, a removable memory card 320, a universal serial bus(USB) port 322, a short range wireless communication sub-system 324, analert 326, a keypad 328, a liquid crystal display (LCD) 330, which mayinclude a touch sensitive surface, an LCD controller 332, acharge-coupled device (CCD) camera 334, a camera controller 336, and aglobal positioning system (GPS) sensor 338, and a power managementmodule 340 operably coupled to a power storage unit, such as a battery342. In various embodiments, the client node 202 may include anotherkind of display that does not provide a touch sensitive screen. In oneembodiment, the DSP 302 communicates directly with the memory 304without passing through the input/output interface 318.

In various embodiments, the DSP 302 or some other form of controller orcentral processing unit (CPU) operates to control the various componentsof the client node 202 in accordance with embedded software or firmwarestored in memory 304 or stored in memory contained within the DSP 302itself. In addition to the embedded software or firmware, the DSP 302may execute other applications stored in the memory 304 or madeavailable via information carrier media such as portable data storagemedia like the removable memory card 320 or via wired or wirelessnetwork communications. The application software may comprise a compiledset of machine-readable instructions that configure the DSP 302 toprovide the desired functionality, or the application software may behigh-level software instructions to be processed by an interpreter orcompiler to indirectly configure the DSP 302.

The antenna and front end unit 306 may be provided to convert betweenwireless signals and electrical signals, enabling the client node 202 tosend and receive information from a cellular network or some otheravailable wireless communications network or from a peer client node202. In an embodiment, the antenna and front end unit 306 includesmultiple antennas to provide spatial diversity which can be used toovercome difficult channel conditions or to increase channel throughput.As is known to those skilled in the art, multiple antennas may also beused to support beam forming and/or multiple input multiple output(MIMO) operations thereby further improving channel throughput orrobustness to difficult channel conditions. Likewise, the antenna andfront end unit 306 may include antenna tuning or impedance matchingcomponents, RF power amplifiers, or low noise amplifiers.

In various embodiments, the RF transceiver 308 provides frequencyshifting, converting received RF signals to baseband and convertingbaseband transmit signals to RF. In some descriptions a radiotransceiver or RF transceiver may be understood to include other signalprocessing functionality such as modulation/demodulation,coding/decoding, interleaving/deinterleaving, spreading/despreading,inverse fast Fourier transforming (IFFT)/fast Fourier transforming(FFT), cyclic prefix appending/removal, and other signal processingfunctions. For the purposes of clarity, the description here separatesthe description of this signal processing from the RF and/or radio stageand conceptually allocates that signal processing to the analog basebandprocessing unit 310 or the DSP 302 or other central processing unit. Insome embodiments, the RF Transceiver 108, portions of the Antenna andFront End 306, and the analog base band processing unit 310 may becombined in one or more processing units and/or application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs).

The analog baseband processing unit 310 may provide various analogprocessing of inputs and outputs, for example analog processing ofinputs from the microphone 312 and the headset 316 and outputs to theearpiece 314 and the headset 316. To that end, the analog basebandprocessing unit 310 may have ports for connecting to the built-inmicrophone 312 and the earpiece speaker 314 that enable the client node202 to be used as a cell phone. The analog baseband processing unit 310may further include a port for connecting to a headset or otherhands-free microphone and speaker configuration. The analog basebandprocessing unit 310 may provide digital-to-analog conversion in onesignal direction and analog-to-digital conversion in the opposing signaldirection. In various embodiments, at least some of the functionality ofthe analog baseband processing unit 310 may be provided by digitalprocessing components, for example by the DSP 302 or by other centralprocessing units.

The DSP 302 may perform modulation/demodulation, coding/decoding,interleaving/deinterleaving, spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fouriertransforming (IFFT)/fast Fourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefixappending/removal, and other signal processing functions associated withwireless communications. In an embodiment, for example in a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) technology application, for atransmitter function the DSP 302 may perform modulation, coding,interleaving, and spreading, and for a receiver function the DSP 302 mayperform despreading, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. Inanother embodiment, for example in an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplex access (OFDMA) technology application, for the transmitterfunction the DSP 302 may perform modulation, coding, interleaving,inverse fast Fourier transforming, and cyclic prefix appending, and fora receiver function the DSP 302 may perform cyclic prefix removal, fastFourier transforming, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. Inother wireless technology applications, yet other signal processingfunctions and combinations of signal processing functions may beperformed by the DSP 302.

The DSP 302 may communicate with a wireless network via the analogbaseband processing unit 310. In some embodiments, the communication mayprovide Internet connectivity, enabling a user to gain access to contenton the Internet and to send and receive e-mail or text messages. Theinput/output interface 318 interconnects the DSP 302 and variousmemories and interfaces. The memory 304 and the removable memory card320 may provide software and data to configure the operation of the DSP302. Among the interfaces may be the USB interface 322 and the shortrange wireless communication sub-system 324. The USB interface 322 maybe used to charge the client node 202 and may also enable the clientnode 202 to function as a peripheral device to exchange information witha personal computer or other computer system. The short range wirelesscommunication sub-system 324 may include an infrared port, a Bluetoothinterface, an IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless interface, or any othershort range wireless communication sub-system, which may enable theclient node 202 to communicate wirelessly with other nearby client nodesand access nodes.

The input/output interface 318 may further connect the DSP 302 to thealert 326 that, when triggered, causes the client node 202 to provide anotice to the user, for example, by ringing, playing a melody, orvibrating. The alert 326 may serve as a mechanism for alerting the userto any of various events such as an incoming call, a new text message,and an appointment reminder by silently vibrating, or by playing aspecific pre-assigned melody for a particular caller.

The keypad 328 couples to the DSP 302 via the I/O interface 318 toprovide one mechanism for the user to make selections, enterinformation, and otherwise provide input to the client node 202. Thekeyboard 328 may be a full or reduced alphanumeric keyboard such asQWERTY, Dvorak, AZERTY and sequential types, or a traditional numerickeypad with alphabet letters associated with a telephone keypad. Theinput keys may likewise include a trackwheel, an exit or escape key, atrackball, and other navigational or functional keys, which may beinwardly depressed to provide further input function. Another inputmechanism may be the LCD 330, which may include touch screen capabilityand also display text and/or graphics to the user. The LCD controller332 couples the DSP 302 to the LCD 330.

The CCD camera 334, if equipped, enables the client node 202 to takedigital pictures. The DSP 302 communicates with the CCD camera 334 viathe camera controller 336. In another embodiment, a camera operatingaccording to a technology other than Charge Coupled Device cameras maybe employed. The GPS sensor 338 is coupled to the DSP 302 to decodeglobal positioning system signals or other navigational signals, therebyenabling the client node 202 to determine its position. Various otherperipherals may also be included to provide additional functions, suchas radio and television reception.

FIG. 6 illustrates a software environment 402 that may be implemented bya digital signal processor (DSP). In this embodiment, the DSP 302 shownin FIG. 5 executes an operating system 404, which provides a platformfrom which the rest of the software operates. The operating system 404likewise provides the client node 202 hardware with standardizedinterfaces (e.g., drivers) that are accessible to application software.The operating system 404 likewise comprises application managementservices (AMS) 406 that transfer control between applications running onthe client node 202. Also shown in FIG. 6 are a web browser application408, a media player application 410, and Java applets 412. The webbrowser application 408 configures the client node 202 to operate as aweb browser, allowing a user to enter information into forms and selectlinks to retrieve and view web pages. The media player application 410configures the client node 202 to retrieve and play audio or audiovisualmedia. The Java applets 412 configure the client node 202 to providegames, utilities, and other functionality. A component 414 may providefunctionality described herein. In various embodiments, the client node202, the wireless network nodes ‘A’ 210 through ‘n’ 216, and the servernode 224 shown in FIG. 4 may likewise include a processing componentthat is capable of executing instructions related to the actionsdescribed above.

Orthogonal Resource Selection Transmit Diversity and Resource Assignment

As discussed above, it is likely that PUCCH resources indicated on PCellwill be in different PUCCH RBs than those indicated on SCell. Therefore,solutions are needed that ensure that all PUCCH resources carried on anantenna are in the same RB, even when the resources allocated for STRSDcode are signaled partly using PCell and partly using SCell.

The embodiments disclosed herein address the need for the PUCCHresources of reference symbols and data symbols for a transmit antennaof STRSD codes to be in the same PRB. They can be broken into twoclasses: (1) those that adjust the STRSD codes to simplify resourceallocation with pairs of (rather than all 4) PUCCH resources in the samePRB without altering PUCCH resource allocation methods, and (2) thosethat do not adjust the STRSD codes, but instead alter the resourceallocation or signaling to place the PUCCH resources in the same PRB.

An embodiment of a STRSD code, herein referred to as time-constrainedSTRSD, is described by Table 2, shown below, including a candidatemapping to Ack/Nack bit states. Table 2 was disclosed by U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/388,982 filed Oct. 1, 2010, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.In Table 2, the combinations of Ack/Nack bits are indicated by the rows.In addition, the PUCCH resources used for data or reference symbols areindicated by the columns. Further, the data symbols transmitted areindicated in the cell at the intersection of corresponding rows andcolumns of the table. An Ack/Nack bit of ‘1’ indicates an Ack, whereas a‘0’ indicates either a ‘Nack’ or that the PDCCH corresponding to thetransport block was not received (a discontinuous transmission ‘DTX’).The antenna ports are listed in two sets of columns. Since it can beassumed that transmitted data symbols may be different across the slots,each antenna is labeled with a symbol pair (where the first and secondlisted symbols correspond to the first and second slots, respectively)for each Ack/Nack bit combination as shown in the table. Forconcreteness, it can be assumed that the QPSK symbols correspond to s0,s1, s2, and s3, are 1, j, −j, and −1, respectively. The PUCCH resourceused for the reference signal of an Ack/Nack bit combination isindicated with an ‘r’ in the cell at the intersection of the columncorresponding to the resource and the row corresponding to the Ack/Nackbits. Since it can be assumed that the PUCCH resource used for thereference signals does not vary between slots, only one ‘r’ is neededper antenna on a row.

For example, if the Ack/Nack codeword ‘1001’ is to be transmitted, onthe first antenna the reference signal will be transmitted on PUCCHresource 0 (labeled ‘Ch#0’) and the data symbols in both slots will betransmitted on PUCCH resource 3 using symbol s1 (which corresponds toT). On the second antenna, the reference symbol is transmitted on PUCCHresource 3 in both slots, whereas the data symbol is transmitted onPUCCH resource 0 in both slots, but has the values ‘s1’ in the firstslot and ‘s0’ in the second slot.

TABLE 2 Time constrained STRSD A/N bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3b2 b1 b0 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 0 0 0 0 s0, s0, r s2,s2, r 0 0 0 1 s1, s1, r s1, s0, r 0 0 1 0 s2, s2, r s0, s1, r 0 0 1 1s3, s3, r s3, s3, r 1 1 0 1 s0, s0 r r s2, s2 0 1 0 1 s1, s1 r r s1, s00 1 1 0 s2, s2 r r s0, s1 0 1 1 1 s3, s3 r r s3, s3 1 1 1 0 r s0, s0 s2,s2 r 1 0 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s0 r 1 0 1 0 r s2, s2 s0, s1 r 1 0 1 1 r s3,s3 s3, s3 r 1 1 0 0 s0, s0, r s2, s2, r 0 1 0 0 s1, s1, r s1, s0, r 1 00 0 s2, s2, r s0, s1, r 1 1 1 1 s3, s3, r s3, s3, r

The code design assumes that PUCCH resources 0 and 1 (Ch#0 and Ch#1) aresignaled on the primary cell (PCell), and PUCCH resources 2 and 3 (Ch#2and Ch#3) are signaled on a secondary cell (SCell), which is in linewith the resource allocation in the channel selection specified in Rd-10as described in Section 2.3. Note that this is done so that if a granton either PCell or SCell is missed, the UE can still transmit Ack orNack for the cell it did receive PDCCH on. Note that if no PDCCH isreceived, the UE does not transmit on any resource. Also, if(b0,b1,b2,b3)=(0,0,0,0) and PDCCH for PCell is not received (it is DTX),and if the SCell contains only Nacks, the UE will not transmit on anyresource.

Examining Table 2, it can be seen that for a given antenna, somecombinations of Ack/Nack bits have the reference signal in a PUCCHresource signaled on a different cell than the data symbol resource. Forexample, on antenna port #0, Ack/Nack word ‘1001’ uses resource 0 forthe reference signal and resource 3 for the data. This means that it canpotentially be in a different PRB, since the PUCCH resource indicated onPCell and on SCell can be in different PRBs.

Rel-10 LTE uses signaling where the implicitly signaled PUCCH resourcesare not constrained to be in the same RB as those signaled explicitlyvia ARI. When time constrained STRSD is used with this Rel-10 signaling,the eNB can schedule UEs only in subframes when their implicit andexplicit PUCCH resources land in the same RB. If only 1 RB is used forformat 1b PUCCH transmission, the UE may be scheduled in any subframe.However, if M>1 RBs are used to carry format 1b PUCCH, the scheduler mayonly be able to schedule a UE on average once out of M subframes (in thesubframes where the implicit and explicit resource is in the same RB).

Another example STRSD scheme, herein referred to as time varying STRSDis a more general code. It is shown in Table 3, along with a candidatemapping to Ack/Nack bit states. Table 3 was disclosed by U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/443,525, filed Feb. 16, 2011, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.It varies the resource used for reference signals across slots, as wellas for data on both antennas. While varying more across slots improvesthe performance relative to time constrained STRSD, it also increasesthe complexity of the code and the eNB receiver (especially due to thevariation of the reference signals). Since the performance improvementis on the order of a few tenths dB in typical urban channels, it may bedesirable in some scenarios to use a simpler code.

TABLE 3 Time varying STRSD code Slot #0 Slot #1 A/N bits Antenna port#0Antenna port#1 Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1 b0 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 0 0 0 0 s0, r s2, r s0,r s2, r 0 0 0 1 s1, r s1, r s1, r s0, r 0 0 1 0 s3, r s3, r s3, r s3, r0 0 1 1 s2, r s0, r s2, r s1, r 1 1 0 0 s0 r s2, r s0 r s2, r 0 1 0 0 s1r s1, r s1 r s0, r 1 0 0 0 s3 r s3, r s3 r s3, r 1 1 1 1 s2 r s0, r s2 rs1, r 1 1 1 0 s0, r s2 r r s0 r s2 1 0 0 1 s1, r s1 r r s1 r s0 1 0 1 0s3, r s3 r r s3 r s3 1 0 1 1 s2, r s0 r r s2 r s1 1 1 0 1 r s0 r s2 s0,r s2 r 0 1 0 1 r s1 r s1 s1, r s0 r 1 1 1 0 r s3 r s3 s3, r s3 r 0 1 1 1r s2 r s0 s2, r s1 r

STRSD schemes such as time constrained and time varying STRSD providesubstantial reductions in required transmit power without increasing thenumber of PUCCH resources needed for channel selection. While thisdisclosure provides resource allocation for channel selection TxDschemes, it is worth mentioning other channel selection TxD codes thathave been proposed. Two such proposals have the main benefit of STRSD inthat they do not use more than 4 PUCCH resources to signal 4 Ack/Nackbits. These two proposals are Modified SORTD and space code block coding(SCBC), and they are shown in Tables 4 and 5 below. STRSD codes aresimilar to modified SORTD in the sense that 4 different pairs ofchannels are used by different codewords. Also, in both STRSD and SCBC,the resource for a reference symbol is not always the same as that usedfor the corresponding data symbol. However, STSRD is more general thanthe other two codes in that it also allows the symbols to vary betweenslots on the second antenna, and because the reference symbols'orthogonal resources vary with the Ack/Nack bits in a different mannerthan how the data orthogonal resources vary. In fact, it can be seen inTable 4 and Table 5 that the reference symbols' orthogonal resources donot vary at all with the Ack/Nack bits. By contrast, reference symbols'orthogonal resources in STRSD codes can vary with the Ack/Nack bits suchthat the reference symbols and data symbols are on the same orthogonalresource for some states of the A/N bits, but not for other states ofthe A/N bits. These generalizations allow it to obtain improvedperformance, typically about 1 dB better than the other codes.

TABLE 4 Modified SORTD A/N bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1b0 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 0 0 0 0 s0, s0, r r s0, s0 00 0 1 s1, s1, r r s1, s1 0 0 1 0 s2, s2, r r s2, s2 0 0 1 1 s3, s3, r rs3, s3 0 1 0 0 r s0, s0 s0, s0 r 0 1 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s1 r 0 1 1 0 r s2,s2 s2, s2 r 0 1 1 1 r s3, s3 s3, s3 r 1 0 0 0 r s0, s0 r s0, s0 1 0 0 1r s1, s1 r s1, s1 1 0 1 0 r s2, s2 r s2, s2 1 0 1 1 r s3, s3 r s3, s3 11 0 0 r s0, s0 s0, s0, r 1 1 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s1, r 1 1 1 0 r s2, s2 s2,s2, r 1 1 1 1 r s3, s3 s3, s3, r

TABLE 5 SCBC A/N bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1 b0 Ch#0Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 0 0 0 0 s0, s0, r s2, s2, r 0 0 0 1s1, s1, r s3, s3, r 0 0 1 0 s2, s2, r s0, s0, r 0 0 1 1 s3, s3, r s1,s1, r 0 1 0 0 r s0, s0 s1, s1 r 0 1 0 1 r s1, s1 s0, s0 r 0 1 1 0 r s2,s2 s3, s3 r 0 1 1 1 r s3, s3 s2, s2 r 1 0 0 0 r s0, s0 r s2, s2 1 0 0 1r s1, s1 r s3, s3 1 0 1 0 r s2, s2 r s0, s0 1 0 1 1 r s3, s3 r s1, s1 11 0 0 r s0, s0 r s1, s1 1 1 0 1 r s1, s1 r s0, s0 1 1 1 0 r s2, s2 r s3,s3 1 1 1 1 r s3, s3 r s2, s2

The modified STRSD codes of the embodiments above provide that theorthogonal resources used on each antenna are signaled either implicitlyfrom PCell or explicitly from SCell. Resources signaled from a cell arein the same PUCCH PRB, but different cells' resources can be indifferent PRBs. As a result, resources for data and reference signal onan antenna are in one PUCCH PRB. Furthermore, the codes maintain theproperties of earlier STRSD codes: 1) if a PDCCH is missed, the mappingshould not use the resource indicated by the missed PDCCH and/or 2)resource for the reference signal can be different across the slots.

Common PRB STRSD Code

In one embodiment, the time constrained STRSD code described above canbe altered such that for each antenna, each codeword (or row of thecode's table) uses resources signaled from only one of the servingcells. This can be seen in the common PRB STRSD code in Table 6, sincein this embodiment resource 0,1 and 2,3 are signaled on PCell and SCell,respectively according to PUCCH resource allocation in the channelselection supported in Rel-10. Each row for either antenna port 0 or 1only contains one of resource (0,1) or of (2,3). Therefore, when thereference signal is on a different resource than the data (as is thecase in the 5^(th) through the 12^(th) rows of the table), the referencesignal is always on a resource signaled from the same cell as the data'sresource. Since the reference and data resources are signaled from thesame cell, given the structure of the implicit and explicit resourcesignaling, it is relatively easier to ensure that the data and referenceshare the same PRB. One should also note that this code retains theproperty of the time constrained STRSD code that allows it to functionwhen PDCCH of either PCell or SCell is missed (DTX). When (b0,b1) or(b2,b3) are (0,0), PDCCH of PCell or SCell may be DTX, respectively. ForA/N states ‘1100’, ‘0100’, and ‘1000’, PDCCH of PCell may be DTX andonly resources 2 and 3 are needed. Also, for A/N states ‘0000’, ‘0001’,‘0010’, and ‘0011’, PDCCH of SCell may be DTX and only resources 0 and 1are needed. In general, there should exist two groups of codewords (eachgroup containing codewords transmitted when either the PCell or SCell isDTX) such that each group uses resources signaled from only one of thecells. Furthermore, in this embodiment, codewords within each group usethe same PUCCH resource, and so only differ by the modulation symbolsused.

Note that this embodiment and all following embodiments havesubstantially the same behavior as the example STRSD codes when(b0,b1,b2,b3)=(0,0,0,0). If no PDCCH is received, the UE does nottransmit on any resource. Also, if PDCCH for PCell is not received (itis DTX), and if the SCell contains only Nacks, the UE will not transmiton any resource.

TABLE 6 Common PRB STRSD code A/N bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3b2 b1 b0 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 0 0 0 0 s0, s0, r s2,s2, r 0 0 0 1 s1, s1, r s1, s0, r 0 0 1 0 s2, s2, r s0, s1, r 0 0 1 1s3, s3, r s3, s3, r 1 1 0 1 r s0, s0 s2, s2 r 0 1 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s0 r0 1 1 0 r s2, s2 s0, s1 r 0 1 1 1 r s3, s3 s3, s3 r 1 1 1 0 r s0, s0 s2,s2 r 1 0 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s0 r 1 0 1 0 r s2, s2 s0, s1 r 1 0 1 1 r s3,s3 s3, s3 r 1 1 0 0 s0, s0, r s2, s2, r 0 1 0 0 s1, s1, r s1, s0, r 1 00 0 s2, s2, r s0, s1, r 1 1 1 1 s3, s3, r s3, s3, r

This embodiment provides a number of benefits:

1) Since resources signaled from one cell can be controlled such thatthey are in the same PRB more easily, the new STRSD code can allow UEsto be scheduled in any subframe when they could not be in timeconstrained STRSD.

2) The code is simpler than time varying STRSD. Reference signalresource does not vary across slots, nor does the resource used for datasymbols.

3) PUCCH resource is implicitly addressed using existing PUCCH resourceallocation mechanisms from Rel-8 and Rd-10.

4) The eNB scheduler flexibility is minimally affected. The PUCCH onPCell must be scheduled such that implicit resources 0 and 1 are in thesame PRB, and the explicit resources 2 and 3 must also be signaled intothe same PRB. However, the implicit and explicit resources need not allbe in the same PRB. Furthermore, the UESS or mapping from CCE to PUCCHresources need not be redefined.

Constrained Time Varying Common PRB STRSD

In another embodiment of the disclosure, the time varying STRSD isaltered so that when resources 0 and 1 are signaled with PDCCH of PCelland resources 2 and 3 are signaled with PDCCH of SCell, then if PDCCH onthe PCell is missed, the UE will be able to transmit on any PUCCHresources indicated by the PDCCH of SCell. The resulting constrainedtime varying common PRB STRSD code is shown in Table 7. A/N codewords‘1100’, ‘0100’, and ‘1000’, now use PUCCH resources 2 and 3 only, whichare signaled on SCell. Furthermore, the code maintains the property thatfor each antenna during each slot, each codeword (or row of the table)uses PUCCH resources signaled from PDCCH of only one of the cells. Aswith the common PRB STRSD code, this can be seen in the table, sincePUCCH resources 0,1 and 2,3 are signaled with PDCCH of PCell and SCell,respectively. Each row for each slot for either antenna port 0 or 1 onlycontains one of resource (0,1) or of (2,3), and again it is relativelyeasy to ensure that the data and reference share the same PRB even whenexplicit resource allocation is used.

TABLE 7 Constrained time varying common PRB STRSD code Slot #0 Slot #1A/N bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3b2 b1 b0 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch0 Ch1 Ch2 Ch30 0 0 0 s0, r s2, r s0, r s2, r 0 0 0 1 s1, r s1, r s1, r s0, r 0 0 1 0s3, r s3, r s3, r s3, r 0 0 1 1 s2, r s0, r s2, r s1, r 1 1 0 1 s0 r s2,r s0 r s2, r 0 1 0 1 s1 r s1, r s1 r s0, r 0 1 1 0 s3 r s3, r s3 r s3, r0 1 1 1 s2 r s0, r s2 r s1, r 1 1 1 0 s0, r r s2 s0 r s2, r 1 0 0 1 s1,r r s1 s1 r s0, r 1 0 1 0 s3, r r s3 s3 r s3, r 1 0 1 1 s2, r r s0 s2 rs1, r 1 1 0 0 s0 r r s2 r s0 s2 r 0 1 0 0 s1 r r s1 r s1 s0 r 1 0 0 0 s3r r s3 r s3 s3 r 1 1 1 1 s2 r r s0 r s2 s1 r

This embodiment has the following benefits:

1) Since the structure is close to time varying STRSD, it is expected tohave similar performance advantages over Embodiment #1 to that of timevarying STRSD as shown in Table 3.

2) Since resources signaled from one cell can be controlled such thatthey are in the same PRB more easily, the new STRSD code can allow UEsto be scheduled in any subframe when they could not be in timeconstrained STRSD.

3) PUCCH resource is implicitly addressed using existing mechanisms fromRel-8 and Rd-10.

4) The eNB scheduler flexibility is minimally affected. The PUCCH onPCell must be scheduled such that implicit resources 0 and 1 are in thesame PRB, and the explicit resources 2 and 3 must also be signaled intothe same PRB. However, the implicit and explicit resources need not allbe in the same PRB. Furthermore, the UESS or mapping from CCE to PUCCHresources need not be redefined.

Aliased PUCCH Resource Mapping

Aspects of another embodiment of the disclosure can be understood byreferring to FIG. 7 in connection with the discussion below.

Altering the STRSD code may reduce its performance. Therefore, whenperformance should be maximized, one can consider embodiments that donot impose constraints on the STRSD code's use of PUCCH resource.

This embodiment has the benefit of supporting better performing STRSDcodes by constraining the mapping to PUCCH resources. This can ingeneral be done by splitting the PUCCH resource into multipleconsecutive ranges, each range containing exactly one PUCCH PRB, andsetting the PUCCH resource index to be the sum of a fixed offset and adynamic offset, as is shown in FIG. 7. The fixed offset adjusts thebeginning of a range of PUCCH resource, and the dynamic offset allowsthe PUCCH resources within the range to be addressed. For a UE, eachcontiguous block of PDCCH CCEs maps to the same PUCCH PRB, which resultsin a many to one or ‘aliased’ PUCCH resource mapping.

One way to express this when the PUCCH resource ranges are of equal sizeis through Equation 1 below:n _(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾=(n _(CCE,i) +N _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾)mod(C)+└N _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾/C┘  (1.)

where: C=cN_(sc) ^(RB)/Δ_(shift) ^(PUCCH) and c, N_(sc) ^(RB), Δ_(shift)^(PUCCH), N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, are defined in section 5.4 of 3GPP TS 36.211V10.1.0, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical SpecificationGroup Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 10)”, March, 2011,and n_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾ is the i^(th) PUCCH resource.

Here, the fixed offset is └N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾/C┘ and the dynamic offset is(n_(CCE,i)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾)mod(C), the number of PUCCH resources in arange is C. Since N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ as defined in Rel-8 can address eachPUCCH resource in over 50 RBs, and since 50 PUCCH RBs should be morethan enough even for 20 MHz (the largest carrier bandwidth defined inLTE Rd-10), its range is large enough such that no additional offsetvariable or constant is needed in equation 1 above. N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ can beset to offset the PUCCH resource addressed by equation 1 above to thebeginning of more than 50 PUCCH PRBs.

The second implicit PUCCH resource is preferably adjacent to the firstimplicit PUCCH resource, and thus a modification of Equation 1 can beexpressed as in Equation 2 below:n _(PUCCH,i+1) ⁽¹⁾=(n _(CCE,i) +N _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾+1)mod(C)+└N _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾/C┘  (2)

Here, unless the first implicit PUCCH resource, n_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾, is atthe end of a PRB, the second PUCCH resource, n_(PUCCH,i+1) ⁽¹⁾ will beadjacent to the first. Note that proper selection of n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ allowthis to be the case for up to C−1 values of n_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾.

This embodiment has the following benefits:

1) Slight performance improvements are possible by allowing a lessconstrained STRSD code to be used. Time varying STRSD can be used toprovide a couple of tenths dB better Nack to Ack performance at higherNack to Ack error rates.

2) The UESS need not be redefined. Only the mapping of PUCCH resource ischanged.

3) There are few scheduling constraints. The UE's PDCCH can be scheduledon any CCE, so long as it does not map to the same PUCCH resource thatanother UE's CCE in a different CCE block maps to. Since one out ofevery cN_(sc) ^(RB)/Δ_(shift) ^(PUCCH) that maps to a given PUCCHresource, and since each UE is semi-statically mapped to PUCCH PRBs,this should not impact the scheduler too much.

4) ARI resource selection is unconstrained. Explicit resource pairs foreach ARI state can be in different PRBs.

Signaling ARI Resource in Multiple PRBs

Yet another embodiment can be understood by referring to FIG. 8 and theaccompanying text below. In this embodiment, the ARI resource pairs areassigned to be in different PUCCH PRBs, but it can still be ensured thateach pair is contained within one PRB. This will allow the implicitresource to be in different PRBs, and therefore allow UEs to bescheduled in more PDCCH CCE resources, since their UESS will more oftenmap to implicit resource that is in the same PUCCH PRB as the ARIresource.

FIG. 8 is an example of where 2 ARI bits are used to select among 4PUCCH resource pairs, and 4 distinct PRBs are indicated. At subframeindex k, at least one starting CCE index in the UESS is assumed to havea corresponding PUCCH resource in PRB#2.

This embodiment has the following benefits:

1) There is significantly more scheduling flexibility than the casewhere the ARI PUCCH are in a single PRB (as is the situation inembodiment #3). Up to N times more CCE locations can be selected when Ndifferent PUCCH PRBs are addressed by ARI (i.e., 4 times more in thiscase).

2) PUCCH resource is implicitly addressed using existing mechanisms fromRel-8 and Rd-10.

3) The UESS need not be redefined.

4) Simple mechanisms are used.

STRSD Code RRC Signaling Robustness and Efficiency

As described above in connection with PUCCH Resource Allocation forChannel Selection in Rd-10 Carrier Aggregation, the explicit resourcessignaled for ARI can be in the same PRB due to the structure of theresource allocation on PCell and SCell. Therefore, ARI resourceallocation for all the embodiments above can be supported using Rel-10signaling mechanisms. However, it may be desirable to reduce the RRCsignaling overhead and to make it more error-proof by constraining theexplicit resources to be in the same PRB.

In one embodiment (that is complementary to the above other disclosedembodiments), one of ways to achieve it is to only signal the firstexplicit PUCCH resource and to use the same rule that is used for theimplicit signaling, where the two PUCCH resources are adjacent. This maybe expressed as the following, and can be described in the context ofthe layer 1 (physical layer) specifications of LTE since the dependenceof the second resource on the first is not configurable:n _(PUCCH,i+j) ⁽¹⁾ =n _(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾ +j  (3.)

where n_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾ is the first explicit PUCCH resource, the integerj>0, and n_(PUCCH,i+j) ⁽¹⁾, is the j^(th) PUCCH resource determined fromthe first explicit PUCCH resource.

Note that with equation (3), the network should avoid signalingn_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾ near the end of a PUCCH PRB, since n_(PUCCH,i+j) ⁽¹⁾ maybe in a different PUCCH PRB. If additional signaling robustness isdesired, can be made to ‘wrap around’ to the beginning of a PUCCH PRB byusing the following equation (used in Embodiment #3) instead:n _(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾=(n _(CCE,i) +n _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ +j)mod(C)+└n _(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾/C┘  (4.)

Since PUCCH resource is addressed using 12 bits in Rel-10, thisembodiment can save a significant percentage of the information used toconfigure PUCCH (the PUCCH-Config information elements). Perhaps moreimportantly, since STRSD requires the resources to be in the same PRB,this embodiment reduces the fraction of resource combinations with morethan one PRB (in equation 3) or completely eliminates them (in equation4). Consequently, the signaling with this embodiment is much less errorprone than the more general signaling in Rel-10. Taken from anotherpoint of view, while the general signaling that allows different PRBs isfine for Rel-10 mechanisms, and provides flexibility, for STRSD it issolely a misconfiguration.

Variable Resource STRSD

Yet another embodiment of the disclosure relates to properties of avariable resource STRSD. A time varying STRSD has the property that itrequires that the UE be signaled 3 or 4 resources for 12 of the 16Ack/Nack bit states, for 4 of the states, 3 resources need to besignaled, and for 4 of the states, 2 resources need to be signaled. If 2resources are signaled on PCell and 2 are signaled on SCell, then ifeither PCell or SCell is missed, and the UE needs to transmit one of the12 Ack/Nack bit states, it will only know 2 of the 3 or 4 resources itneeds. If one selects the Ack/Nack bit mapping such that where SCell ismissed (i.e. for b3,b2,b1,b0=0000, 0001, 0010, and 0011), 2 resourcesare used and the Ack/Nack bit mapping is selected such that where PCellis missed (i.e. for b3,b2,b1,b0=1100, 0100, and 1000), 3 resources areused, only one additional resource needs to be signaled. Furthermore,because 3 resources are needed when PCell is missed but only tworesources are needed when SCell is missed, one only needs to transmitthe additional resource on SCell to solve the problem of missing PCellor SCell. Therefore, in a first embodiment, ARI will indicate 3resources while 2 resources are still implicitly allocated. However,this first embodiment of the code has the additional constraint thatresources 1 and 3 should be in the same PRB. This can be accomplished bychoosing the PDCCH of PCell such that resource 1 is in the same PRB asresource 3 (which is explicitly allocated on SCell). This schedulingconstraint may not always be desirable. Therefore, in another embodimentshown in Table 8, 4 resources on SCell are shown, since the additionalresource on SCell can be easily constrained to be in the same PRB asresource 3.

A modified code for variable resource STRSD based on time varying STRSDis shown in Table 8. It uses the Ack/Nack bit mapping as described infirst paragraph of this embodiment, and some slight modifications totime varying STRSD with respect to the resource usage. Since resources 0and 1 are assumed to be transmitted from PCell in this embodiment,columns containing resource 1 and resource 2 were swapped. Also, dataand/or reference signals are transmitted on resources 4 and 5 instead ofresources 0 and 1 in the last 12 rows of the code. Note that theperformance of this code may be as good or better than that of timevarying STRSD, since additional coding gain can come from the use ofadditional resources. Furthermore, note that the explicit resourceshould be allocated such that resources 3 and 5 are in the same PUCCHRB, and resources 2 and 4 should also be in one PUCCH PRB (althoughresources 2 and 3 or 4 and 5 need not be in the same PUCCH PRBs).

This ensures that when the reference signal and data are on differentresources the data symbol and reference signal will be in the same PUCCHRB. Finally, it is noted that the implicitly signaled resources 0 and 1need not be in the same PUCCH PRB as the explicitly signaled resources2, 3, 4, and 5. This means that there is no scheduling constraint toalign implicit and explicit PUCCH resource for this code.

TABLE 8 Variable Resource STRSD code Slot#0 Slot#1 A/N Bits Antennaport#0 Antenna port#1 Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1 b0 C0 C1 C2C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 0 0 0 0s0, s2, r s0, r s2, r r 0 0 0 1 s1, s1, r s1, r s0, r r 0 0 1 0 s3, s3,r s3, r s3, r r 0 0 1 1 s2, s0, r s2, r s1, r r 1 1 0 0 r s0 s2, r r s0s2, r 0 1 0 0 r s1 s1, r r s1 s0, r 1 0 0 0 r s3 s3, r r s3 s3, r 1 1 11 r s2 s0, r r s2 s1, r 1 1 1 0 s0, r r s2 s0 r s2 r 1 0 0 1 s1, r r s1s1 r s0 r 1 0 1 0 s3, r r s3 s3 r s3 r 1 0 1 1 s2, r r s0 s2 r s1 r 1 10 1 s0 r s2 r s0, r r s2 0 1 0 1 s1 r s1 r s1, r r s0 1 1 1 0 s3 r s3 rs3, r r s3 0 1 1 1 s2 r s0 r s2, r r s1

If six distinct resources are signaled, then the code operates as above,and 6 resources are used by the UE to signal Ack/Nack. If implicitsignaling indicates the same PUCCH resource for resource 0 as the PUCCHresource for resource 4 and from explicit signaling, as well as the samePUCCH resource for resource 1 as the PUCCH resource for resource 5 andfrom explicit signaling, then the code falls back to the same basicstructure as time varying STRSD, as is shown in Table 9. Since there areno distinct 5^(th) and 6^(th) PUCCH resources, this is shown in thetable by moving all transmission from resources 4 and 5 to resources 0and 1, respectively. Therefore, it can be seen that only 4 resources areused for the UE's Ack/Nack transmissions. Note that since resources 2and 4 as well as 3 and 5 are signaled to be in the same PUCCH RBs, whenthe implicit resource indicates the same resource for resources 0 and 4,and for resources 1 and 5, resource 0 will be in the same PUCCH PRB asresource 2 and resource 1 will be in the same PUCCH PRB as resource 3.

TABLE 9 Time varying STRSD with reordered PUCCH resource Slot#0 Slot#1A/N Bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3b2 b1 b0 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2C3 C4 C5 0 0 0 0 s0, s2, r s0, r s2, r r 0 0 0 1 s1, s1, r s1, r s0, r r0 0 1 0 s3, s3, r s3, r s3, r r 0 0 1 1 s2, s0, r s2, r s1, r r 1 1 0 0s0 r s2, r s0 r s2, r 0 1 0 0 s1 r s1, r s1 r s0, r 1 0 0 0 s3 r s3, rs3 r s3, r 1 1 1 1 s2 r s0, r s2 r s1, r 1 1 1 0 s0, r s2 r r s0 r s2 10 0 1 s1, r s1 r r s1 r s0 1 0 1 0 s3, r s3 r r s3 r s3 1 0 1 1 s2, r s0r r s2 r s1 1 1 0 1 r s0 r s2 s0, r s2 r 0 1 0 1 r s1 r s1 s1, r s0 r 11 1 0 r s3 r s3 s3, r s3 r 0 1 1 1 r s2 r s0 s2, r s1 r

Since resources 0 and 1 are implicitly signaled in this embodiment, theymay use adjacent PUCCH resource when Rel-10 resource signaling is used.That is, the resources in this case may be determined as: n_(PUCCH,1)⁽¹⁾=n_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾+1=n_(CCE,0)+1+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, where n_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾and n_(PUCCH,1) ⁽¹⁾ are the PUCCH resource indices for resource 0 andresource 1 respectively, n_(CCE,0) is the index of the first controlchannel element for the UE's grant on PCell PDCCH, and N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ isdefined in section 5.4 of Reference 2. Because they are adjacent, inthis case where both resources 0 and 1 are signaled to be the same asexplicit resources, explicit resources 2 and 3 will also therefore beconfigured to be adjacent. Those of skill in the art will appreciatethat the network should not signal the same PUCCH resource for resources0, 4, and 5 in this embodiment to avoid degradation in performance ofthe code.

TABLE 10 Variable Resource STRSD with identical resources 0, 4, and 5Slot#0 Slot#1 A/N Bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 Antenna port#0Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1 b0 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2C3 C4 C5 C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 0 0 0 0 s0, s2, r s0, r s2, r r 0 0 0 1 s1,s1, r s1, r s0, r r 0 0 1 0 s3, s3, r s3, r s3, r r 0 0 1 1 s2, s0, rs2, r s1, r r 1 1 0 0 s0 r s2, r s0 r s2, r 0 1 0 0 s1 r s1, r s1 r s0,r 1 0 0 0 s3 r s3, r s3 r s3, r 1 1 1 1 s2 r s0, r s2 r s1, r 1 1 1 0s0, r s2 r r s0 r s2 1 0 0 1 s1, r s1 r r s1 r s0 1 0 1 0 s3, r s3 r rs3 r s3 1 0 1 1 s2, r s0 r r s2 r s1 1 1 0 1 r s0 r s2 s0, r s2 r 0 1 01 r s1 r s1 s1, r s0 r 1 1 1 0 r s3 r s3 s3, r s3 r 0 1 1 1 r s2 r s0s2, r s1 r

The scheduling constraints to set the implicitly allocated resources tobe the same as the explicitly allocated resources can be significant.Embodiment 3 may be used to loosen some of the constraints. If PUCCHresource allocation is modified to use Equations 1 and 2 describedabove, then there may be a factor of m times more locations in whicheach UE can be scheduled, since there are m CCE blocks that alias to thesame set of PUCCH resources.

Furthermore, note that it is possible to signal extra resources usingimplicit signaling as well. PUCCH resource indices for resources 2, 3,4, and 5 could be implicitly signaled as n_(PUCCH,i)⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE,i)+i+n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, where iε{2,3,4,5} is the resource number.

This embodiment has the following benefits:

1) Since the structure is that of time varying STRSD, it is expected tohave similar performance advantages over Embodiment #1 to that of timevarying STRSD as shown in Table 3.

2) The eNB can dynamically choose to use 4, 5, or 6 resources per UE,depending on if it aligns the implicitly or explicitly scheduledresources or not. This allows a tradeoff of scheduler complexity andlink performance for spectral efficiency.

3) When 6 resources are used, the data and reference signal resourcesmay be easily configured to be in the same PRB. This is because onlyresources 2 and 4 or 3 and 5 may have data and reference signals ondifferent resources, and these resources are signaled from one cell(SCell).

4) PUCCH resource may be implicitly addressed using existing mechanismsfrom Rel-8 and Rel-10, especially when 6 resources are signaled.

Transmit Diversity for Transmission of 3 HARQ ACK Bits

In another embodiment, transmit diversity for transmission of 3 HARQ-Ackbits with channel selection using 4 resources is supported. Thisembodiment uses more than 3 PUCCH resources, that is, more than thatused for single antenna transmission of 3 Ack/Nack bits using channelselection.

As shown in Reference 1, Table 10.1.2.2.1-4, which is shown below inTable 11, 9 states have been defined for transmission of 3 HARQ-Ack bitswhen format 1b with channel selection is used in LTE Rel-10. It shouldbe noted that the last two rows use the same resource and the samemodulation symbol and are considered together to be a single codeword.Note that in other STRSD embodiments described herein, each row of thecode tables corresponds to one combination of information bits and onecombination of orthogonal resources and modulation symbols. Therefore,in the other STRSD embodiments, a codeword identifies to a uniquecombination of information bits as well as orthogonal resources andmodulation symbols. In order to maintain the property that codewords areunique, in this embodiment, a codeword is defined as a uniquecombination of orthogonal resources and modulation symbols used acrossone or more slots and one or more transmit antennas.

Also, in other STRSD embodiments described herein, each Ack/Nack statecan be represented with one bit, with 0 corresponding to Nack/DTX and 1corresponding to Ack. As can be seen from Table 11, when 3 HARQ-Ack bitsare used, the HARQ-Ack states represented can be Ack, Nack, DTX, orNack/DTX. Nevertheless, as is known to those skilled in the art, in LTEthese 3 HARQ-Ack states are referred to as HARQ-Ack bits. These HARQ-Ackbits can therefore be considered information bits, and a combination ofHARQ-ACK states can be considered a state of information bits.

TABLE 11 LTE Rel-10 Transmission of Format 1b HARQ-ACK channel selectionfor A = 3 HARQ- HARQ- ACK(0) ACK(1) HARQ-ACK(2) n_(PUCCH,i) ⁽¹⁾ b(0)b(1)ACK ACK ACK n_(PUCCH,1) ⁽¹⁾ 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX ACK n_(PUCCH,1) ⁽¹⁾ 1, 0NACK/DTX ACK ACK n_(PUCCH,1) ⁽¹⁾ 0, 1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK n_(PUCCH,2)⁽¹⁾ 1, 1 ACK ACK NACK/DTX n_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾ 1, 1 ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTXn_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾ 1, 0 NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX n_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾ 0, 1 NACK/DTXNACK/DTX NACK n_(PUCCH,2) ⁽¹⁾ 0, 0 NACK NACK/DTX DTX n_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾ 0,0 NACK/DTX NACK DTX n_(PUCCH,0) ⁽¹⁾ 0, 0 DTX DTX DTX No Transmission

Hence, the STRSD code should also have 9 codewords. Moreover, the codeshould have the resource allocation-related properties discussed for the4-bit case, namely: Property (1) The code should be functional even if aPDCCH transmitted on serving cell 1 or serving cell 2 is missed (wherethe primary cell or a secondary cell can be a serving cell), andProperty (2) For each antenna, each codeword (or row of the table) usesresources signaled from only one of the serving cells.

Since 4 resources are available for the 3-bit STRSD code, this code canbe built on the 4-bit Common PRB STRSD code of Table 6 which was alreadydeveloped with 4 resources and satisfies both properties above. Theconstruction can be done in two steps: 1) Puncturing the 4-bit STRSD toreduce the number of codewords to 9. and then 2) Modifying themodulation coding on the punctured code.

The method can be in general used for constructing the 3-bit code basedon any 4-bit code described in this disclosure. However, this method isillustrated for Table 6 here.

The Common PRB STRSD code of Table 6 has 16 codewords. In order toconstruct a 3 bit STRSD code, in this embodiment, the Common PRB STRSDcode is punctured to obtain a new code with 9 codewords such that bothProperties (1) and (2) above continue to hold. Since the number ofresources is not changed from 4, property (2) automatically holds andonly property (1) should be verified for the punctured code. If in the3-bit code the number of available resources were less than 4, thenproperty (2) would have to be verified as well.

Property (2) is automatically transferred to any punctured code. Tosatisfy Property (1), a number of codewords should be kept from thegroup of codewords that use only resources #0 and #1 and also a numberof codewords should be kept from the group of codewords that use onlyresources #2 and #3. The specific number of codewords in each group isdetermined by examining Table 11 and determining the number of codewordsthat may be transmitted in case the PDCCH of serving cell 1 is missedand also the number of codewords that may be transmitted in case thePDCCH of serving cell 2 is missed. These numbers are 2 and 4 for theformer and the latter cases, respectively.

The other three codewords to be kept in the punctured code may beselected from the other two groups of codewords (each group is a set ofcodewords that use the same resources). Choosing these three codewordsfrom two groups (instead of one) yields to increased distance betweenthe codewords. For the same reason, these codewords should not beselected from the group from which 2 codewords were selected for thecase that PDCCH of serving cell 1 is missed. As a result, 2 codewordsare chosen from the second group (rows 5-8 of Table 6) and one codewordis chosen from the third group (rows 9-12 of Table 6).

The punctured code obtained in the previous step includes 9 codewordswhich are split in 4 groups. The number of codewords in these groups are4, 2, 2, and 1, respectively. For the group with 4 codewords, themodulation symbols from the 4-bit code can be reused. For groups with 2codewords, however, the modulation coding (modulation symbols) can bemodified to improve the distance properties of the code. Morespecifically, if one of the codewords uses symbol s₀ on a slot and anantenna, the other codeword should use −s₀ on the same slot and the sameantenna for the maximum distance between the two codewords. In general,codewords in groups having only two codewords should use antipodalmodulation symbols, where the term “antipodal” refers to modulationsymbols that have a phase difference of 180 degrees. While any pair ofantipodal modulation symbols can be used, s₀ and −s₀ are selected forconcreteness. Also, for these two codewords, s₀ may be kept fixed acrossthe slots and across the antennas. For the group with one codeword, anymodulation symbols may be used, and the symbol s₀ is selected forconcreteness.

A code designed based on the procedure described above is shown in Table12. Each row corresponds to a codeword that is associated with acombination of 3 HARQ states, where the HARQ states can be ACK, NACK,DTX, or NACK/DTX. The PUCCH resources used on each of the two antennasin each of the two slots are shown for each codeword. Note that thePUCCH resources used in this table are indexed from 1 to 4. Themodulation symbols used on each of the two antennas in each of the twoslots for each codeword are also shown, where b(0) and b(1) refer to themodulation symbols used in the first and second slots on an antenna,respectively.

TABLE 12 3 Bit STRSD code A1 A2 HARQ- HARQ- HARQ- Data RS Data RS ACK(0)ACK(1) ACK(2) Res. Res. b(0)b(1) Res. Res. b(0)b(1) ACK ACK ACK 2 1 s0,s0 3 4 s0, s0 ACK NACK/DTX ACK 2 1 s3, s3 3 4 s3, s3 NACK/DTX ACK ACK 43 s0, s0 1 2 s0, s0 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK 3 3 s0, s0 4 4 s0, s0 ACK ACKNACK/DTX 1 1 s0, s0 2 2 s2, s2 ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX 1 1 s1, s1 2 2 s1,s0 NACK/DTX ACK NACK/DTX 1 1 s2, s2 2 2 s0, s1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NACK 33 s3, s3 4 4 s3, s3 NACK NACK/DTX DTX 1 1 s3, s3 2 2 s3, s3 NACK/DTXNACK DTX 1 1 s3, s3 2 2 s3, s3 DTX DTX DTX No TransmissionGeneralized Embodiments for STRSD Code

A generalized embodiment for an STRSD code that has fewer informationbits than the number of orthogonal resources is now considered. In thisembodiment, the code is constructed using a set of codeword groups,where the number of codeword groups is at least the number of orthogonalresources. This allows a maximum number of resources to be used and agood distribution of resources among the groups for the given number ofinformation bits, resulting in good code performance. Each codeword ofthe code is unique and is selected for transmission for one or more ofthe combinations of the information bits. A codeword group is defined asa set of codewords that use the same combination of orthogonal resourceson the modulation symbols and on the RS (reference symbols) in bothslots and on both antennas, such that the only difference between twocodewords in a codeword group is between one or more of the modulationsymbols. Each codeword group is constructed such that the orthogonalresource used for the modulation symbols on one antenna is differentfrom the orthogonal resource used on the other antenna. The orthogonalresource used for the reference signal is also different betweenantennas. The codeword groups are also constructed such that no twosub-codewords from different codeword groups have the same orthogonalresource on both the modulation and reference symbols, where asub-codeword is defined as a part of a codeword transmitted on a certainantenna and in a certain time slot.

In one alternative embodiment, QPSK modulation is used and the number ofcodewords in each codeword group is one of 1, 2, or 4 codewords. Designsusing three codewords per codeword group are not supported in thisalternative embodiment because the minimum distance between any 3 QPSKsymbols is uneven, leading to degraded performance. In the one codewordcase, each codeword group can use any QPSK symbol, and s0 is selectedfor concreteness. In the two codeword case, any pair of antipodal QPSKsymbols can be used, s0 and −s0 are selected for concreteness In the 4codeword case, all QPSK symbols are used.

In summary, there are fewer A/N bits than the number of orthogonalresources. In one embodiment, codewords are grouped such that the onlydifference between codewords in the group is the modulation symbol used.There can be a number of codeword groups equal to or greater thanorthogonal resources. Additionally, there can be an unequal number ofcodewords between groups. In one embodiment, QPSK is used for themodulation symbols. In the embodiment, codeword groups can contain 1, 2,or 4 codewords. In such an embodiment, the codeword groups do notinclude 3 codewords.

Transmit Diversity for Transmission of 4 HARQ-Ack Bits without VaryingModulation Symbols Across Slots

In another embodiment, an STRSD code for transmission of 4 HARQ-Ack bitswith channel selection and with non-time-varying modulation symbols isproposed. The code is shown in Table 13 and has the same features andbenefits as the STRSD code in Table 6. While non-time-varying modulationas exemplified in the codes of Table 13, Table 14, and Table 15 uses asingle modulation symbol per antenna in all slots of a subframe, ingeneral non-time-varying modulations symbols are those that are constantover the time in which a codeword is transmitted.

One key feature common to the codes of Table 6 and Table 13 is that themodulation symbols used on antenna ports 0 and 1 are different. Thisfeature improves the performance of the code relative to when themodulation symbols are the same on both antennas.

A second key feature common to the codes of Table 6 and Table 13 is thatthe distance between the modulation symbols for a given pair ofcodewords on one antenna is often different than the distance betweenthe modulation symbols on the other antenna for the same pair ofcodewords. Balancing the distance of codeword pairs across antennas inthis way can improve the performance of the code.

An example of different symbol distances on antennas of a codeword paircan be seen in codewords ‘0000’ and ‘0011’: In codeword ‘0000’; s0 ands2 are transmitted on antenna ports 0 and 1, respectively. For codeword‘0011’; s3 and s3 are transmitted on antenna ports 0 and 1,respectively. Since s3=−s0, the data symbols on the first antenna forcodewords ‘0000’; and ‘0011’ are antipodal, and therefore have themaximum distance attainable in QPSK modulation. However, becauses2=j*s3, the data symbols on the second antenna for codewords ‘0000’;and ‘0011’ are in quadrature, and therefore they have less than themaximum distance attainable in QPSK modulation.

In general then, this feature is generated when a first and a secondcodeword have antipodal modulation symbols for a first antenna, and thefirst and the second codeword have modulation symbols that are inquadrature for the second antenna, where a first modulation symbol x anda second modulation symbol y are defined to be in quadrature when x=j*yor x=−j*y.

The common PRB STRSD code with non-time-varying modulation symbols(Table 13) is obtained from common PRB STRSD code (Table 6) by changingthe modulation symbols on the second antenna of those codewords that usedifferent modulation symbols on two slots. More specifically, in eachgroup of codewords (a set of codewords using the same resources), thereare two codewords that use (s1,s0) or (s0,s1) as their modulationsymbols on the two slots on antenna port #1. To have a non-time-varyingproperty, these pairs of modulation symbols are changed to (s0,s0) and(s1,s1).

Table 13 shows a first approach of such change in which (s1,s0) and(s0,s1) are changed to (s1,s1) and (s0,s0), respectively. A secondapproach is to change (s1,s0) and (s0,s1) to (s0,s0) and (s1,s1),respectively. Also, in Table 13 for all codeword groups the firstapproach has been used; however it is possible that for each codewordgroup either the first approach or the second approach is selectedindependently of other codeword groups.

TABLE 13 Common PRB STRSD code with non-time-varying modulation symbolsA/N bits Antenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1 b0 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 0 0 0 0 s0, s0, r s2, s2, r 0 0 0 1 s1, s1, r s1,s1, r 0 0 1 0 s2, s2, r s0, s0, r 0 0 1 1 s3, s3, r s3, s3, r 1 1 0 1 rs0, s0 s2, s2 r 0 1 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s1 r 0 1 1 0 r s2, s2 s0, s0 r 0 11 1 r s3, s3 s3, s3 r 1 1 1 0 r s0, s0 s2, s2 r 1 0 0 1 r s1, s1 s1, s1r 1 0 1 0 r s2, s2 s0, s0 r 1 0 1 1 r s3, s3 s3, s3 r 1 1 0 0 s0, s0, rs2, s2, r 0 1 0 0 s1, s1, r s1, s1, r 1 0 0 0 s2, s2, r s0, s0, r 1 1 11 s3, s3, r s3, s3, r

In another embodiment, the mapping from HARQ-Ack bits combinations tocodewords is changed so that the modulation symbols and the resourceused for data symbols on the first antenna become similar to those insingle antenna transmission as shown in Reference 1, Table 10.1.2.2.1-5.By only changing the mapping, one of the benefits of the code of Table13, which is functionality with one DTX PDCCH, is lost. To preserve thisproperty, the resources 2 and 3 should be switched before changing themapping. The code obtained by these two changes (switching resources 2and 3 and changing the mapping) from Table 13 is shown below in Table14.

TABLE 14 Common PRB STRSD code with non-time-varying modulation symbolsand with commonality with single antenna channel selection A/N bitsAntenna port#0 Antenna port#1 b3 b2 b1 b0 Ch#0 Ch#1 Ch#2 Ch#3 Ch#0 Ch#1Ch#2 Ch#3 0 0 0 0 s0, s0, r s2, s2, r 0 0 0 1 s1, s1, r s1, s1, r 0 0 10 s2, s2, r s0, s0, r 0 0 1 1 s3, s3, r s3, s3, r 0 1 1 0 r s0, s0 r s2,s2 0 1 1 1 r s1, s1 r s1, s1 1 1 1 0 r s2, s2 r s0, s0 1 1 1 1 r s3, s3r s3, s3 0 1 0 1 s0, s0 r s2, s2 r 1 0 0 1 s1, s1 r s1, s1 r 1 1 0 1 s2,s2 r s0, s0 r 1 0 1 1 s3, s3 r s3, s3 r 1 0 0 0 s0, s0, r s2, s2, r 0 10 0 s1, s1, r s1, s1, r 1 0 1 0 s2, s2, r s0, s0, r 1 1 0 0 s3, s3, rs3, s3, rTransmit Diversity for Transmission of 3 HARQ-Ack Bits without VaryingModulation Symbols Across Slots

In another embodiment, an STRSD code for transmission of 3 HARQ-Ack bitswith channel selection and with non-time-varying modulation symbols isproposed. The code is obtained from Table 12 by changing the modulationsymbols of those codewords that use time varying modulation symbols.More specifically, there are two codewords in Table 12 that usedifferent modulation symbols across the two slots on the second antennaport. The pair of modulation symbols for the second antenna for thesetwo codewords are (s0,s1) and (s1,s0). A sample 3 bit STRSD code withnon-time-varying modulation symbols is shown in Table 15 in which thesymbol pairs (s0,s1) and (s1,s0) have been changed to (s1,s1) and(s0,s0), respectively. An alternative approach would be to change(s0,s1) and (s1,s0) to (s0,s0) and (s1,s1), respectively.

TABLE 15 3 Bit STRSD code with non-time-varying modulation symbols A1 A2HARQ- HARQ- HARQ- Data RS Data RS ACK(0) ACK(1) ACK(2) Res. Res.b(0)b(1) Res. Res. b(0)b(1) ACK ACK ACK 2 1 s0, s0 3 4 s0, s0 ACKNACK/DTX ACK 2 1 s3, s3 3 4 s3, s3 NACK/DTX ACK ACK 4 3 s0, s0 1 2 s0,s0 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX ACK 3 3 s0, s0 4 4 s0, s0 ACK ACK NACK/DTX 1 1 s0,s0 2 2 s2, s2 ACK NACK/DTX NACK/DTX 1 1 s1, s1 2 2 s0, s0 NACK/DTX ACKNACK/DTX 1 1 s2, s2 2 2 s1, s1 NACK/DTX NACK/DTX NACK 3 3 s3, s3 4 4 s3,s3 NACK NACK/DTX DTX 1 1 s3, s3 2 2 s3, s3 NACK/DTX NACK DTX 1 1 s3, s32 2 s3, s3 DTX DTX DTX No Transmission

Although the embodiments disclosed herein are described with referenceto systems and methods for orthogonal resource selection transmitdiversity and resource assignment, the present disclosure is notnecessarily limited to the example embodiments which illustrateinventive aspects of the present disclosure that are applicable to awide variety of authentication algorithms. Thus, the particularembodiments disclosed above are illustrative only and should not betaken as limitations upon the present disclosure, as the embodiments maybe modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparentto those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein.Accordingly, the foregoing description is not intended to limit thedisclosure to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, isintended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents asmay be included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as definedby the appended claims so that those skilled in the art shouldunderstand that they can make various changes, substitutions andalterations without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure in its broadest form.

APPENDIX Abbreviations & Terminology Acronym Full text Brief DescriptionAck Acknowledgement ARI Ack/Nack Resource Indicator CC Component CarrierDFT Discrete Fourier Transform DL DownLink eNB E_UTRAN Node B FDDFrequency Division Duplex FEC Forward Error Correction HARQ HybridAutomatic Repeat Request IDFT Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform LTELong Term Evolution LTE-A LTE-Advanced Nack Negative Acknowledgement PCCPrimary Component Also known as a ‘primary Carrier cell’ or ‘PCell’ PRBPhysical Resource Block PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCHPhysical Uplink Shared Channel RB Resource Block SCC Secondary ComponentAlso known as a ‘secondary Carrier cell’ or ‘SCell’ SNR Signal to NoiseRatio STRSD Space Time Resource Selection Diversity TDD Time DivisionDuplex UE User Equipment UESS UE specific search space UL UpLink

The invention claimed is:
 1. A user equipment (UE) device for use in awireless communication network, wherein the UE device is configured touse transmit diversity, the UE device comprising: a processor; and awireless network connectivity interface, wherein the processor andwireless network connectivity interface are configured to: select afirst uplink orthogonal resource and a second uplink orthogonalresource, respectively, from a plurality of uplink orthogonal resourcesaccording to a state of information bits to be transmitted by the UEdevice to an access node, the first uplink orthogonal resource and thesecond uplink orthogonal resource being different for at least one of aplurality of states of the information bits, wherein the pluralityuplink orthogonal resources indicate physical uplink control channelresources; select a first modulation symbol and a second modulationsymbol according to the state of the information bits, the firstmodulation symbol and the second modulation symbol being different forat least one of the plurality of the states of the information bits,wherein the first and second modulation symbol are selected to benon-time-varying; transmit a reference symbol and the first modulationsymbol on the first uplink orthogonal resource and the second uplinkorthogonal resource, respectively, on a first antenna; and transmit thefirst modulation symbol and the second modulation symbol on the firstantenna and a second antenna, respectively.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the processor and wireless network connectivity interface arefurther configured to: select a third uplink orthogonal resource fromthe plurality of uplink orthogonal resources according to the state ofinformation bits to be communicated by the UE device, and transmit thesecond modulation symbol on the third uplink orthogonal resource on thesecond antenna.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first modulationsymbol is transmitted in all slots of a subframe, and the secondmodulation symbol is transmitted in all slots of the subframe.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein, when the first modulation symbol isantipodal to a third modulation symbol, the second modulation symbol anda fourth modulation symbol being in quadrature, and wherein the firstmodulation symbol and second modulation symbol are transmitted for afirst state of the information bits, the third modulation symbol istransmitted on the first antenna for a second state of the informationbits, and the fourth modulation symbol is transmitted on the secondantenna for the second state of information bits.
 5. A method ofoperating a user equipment (UE) device in a wireless communicationnetwork, wherein the UE device is configured to use transmit diversity,the method comprising: selecting a first uplink orthogonal resource anda second uplink orthogonal resource, respectively, from a plurality ofuplink orthogonal resources according to a state of information bits tobe transmitted by the UE device to an access node, the first uplinkorthogonal resource and the second uplink orthogonal resource beingdifferent for at least one of a plurality of states of the informationbits, wherein the plurality uplink orthogonal resources indicatephysical uplink control channel resources; selecting a first modulationsymbol and a second modulation symbol according to the state of theinformation bits, the first modulation symbol and the second modulationsymbol being different for at least one of the plurality of the statesof the information bits, wherein the first and second modulation symbolare selected to be non-time-varying; transmitting a reference symbol andthe first modulation symbol on the first uplink orthogonal resource andthe second uplink orthogonal resource, respectively, on a first antenna;and transmitting the first modulation symbol and the second modulationsymbol on the first antenna and a second antenna, respectively.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising: selecting a third uplinkorthogonal resource from the plurality of uplink orthogonal resourcesaccording to the state of information bits to be communicated by the UEdevice, and transmitting the second modulation symbol on the thirduplink orthogonal resource on the second antenna.
 7. The method of claim5, wherein the first modulation symbol is transmitted in all slots of asubframe, and the second modulation symbol is transmitted in all slotsof the subframe.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein, when the firstmodulation symbol is antipodal to a third modulation symbol, the secondmodulation symbol and a fourth modulation symbol being in quadrature,and wherein the first modulation symbol and second modulation symbol aretransmitted for a first state of the information bits, the thirdmodulation symbol is transmitted on the first antenna for a second stateof the information bits, and the fourth modulation symbol is transmittedon the second antenna for the second state of information bits.
 9. Anaccess node comprising: a processor; and a wireless network connectivityinterface, wherein the processor and wireless network connectivityinterface are configured to: allocate a plurality of uplink orthogonalresources to a user equipment (UE) device transmitting on multipleantennas for use in a first symbol instant, wherein the plurality uplinkorthogonal resources indicate physical uplink control channel resources;receive a first reference symbol on a first uplink orthogonal resourceof the plurality of uplink orthogonal resources and a first modulationsymbol on a second uplink orthogonal resource of the plurality of uplinkorthogonal resources, the first uplink orthogonal resource and thesecond uplink orthogonal resource being transmitted from a first antennaof the UE device, and the first orthogonal resource and the secondorthogonal resource being different for at least one of a plurality ofstates of the information bits; receive a second modulation symbol, thefirst modulation symbol and the second modulation symbol being differentfor at least one of the plurality of the states of the information bits,and the first and second modulation symbol being non-time-varying; anddetermine a state of information bits transmitted by the UE based on thefirst uplink orthogonal resource, the second uplink orthogonal resource,the first modulation symbol and the second modulation symbol; whereinthe second modulation symbol is transmitted from a second antenna of theUE device.
 10. The access node of claim 9, wherein the processor andwireless network connectivity interface are further configured to:allocate a third uplink orthogonal resource from the plurality of uplinkorthogonal resources; and receive the third uplink orthogonal resourceof the plurality of uplink orthogonal resources, the third uplinkorthogonal resource being selected according to the state of informationbits to be communicated by the UE device, wherein the second modulationsymbol is transmitted on the third uplink orthogonal resource on thesecond antenna of the UE device.
 11. The access node of claim 9, whereinthe first uplink orthogonal resource and the second uplink orthogonalresource are both in the same physical resource block.
 12. The accessnode of claim 9, wherein the first modulation symbol is the same in allslots of a subframe, and the second modulation symbol is the same in allslots of the subframe.
 13. The access node of claim 9, wherein, when thefirst modulation symbol is antipodal to a third modulation symbol, thesecond modulation symbol and a fourth modulation symbol being inquadrature, and wherein the first and second modulation symbols aremapped to a first state of the information bits, a third and the fourthmodulation symbols mapped to a second state of the information bits, andthe third and fourth modulation symbols are transmitted on the first andsecond antennas of the UE device, respectively.
 14. A method at anaccess node comprising: allocating a plurality of orthogonal resourcesto a user equipment (UE) device transmitting on multiple antennas foruse in a first symbol instant, wherein the plurality uplink orthogonalresources indicate physical uplink control channel resources; receivinga first reference symbol on a first uplink orthogonal resource of theplurality of uplink orthogonal resources and a first modulation symbolon a second uplink orthogonal resource of the plurality of uplinkorthogonal resources, the first uplink orthogonal resource and thesecond uplink orthogonal resource being transmitted from a first antennaof the UE device, and the first orthogonal resource and the secondorthogonal resource being different for at least one of a plurality ofstates of the information bits; receiving a second modulation symbol,the first modulation symbol and the second modulation symbol beingdifferent for at least one of the plurality of the states of theinformation bits, and the first and second modulation symbol beingnon-time-varying; and determining a state of information bitstransmitted by the UE based on the first uplink orthogonal resource, thesecond uplink orthogonal resource, the first modulation symbol and thesecond modulation symbol; wherein the second modulation symbol istransmitted from a second antenna of the UE device.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising: allocating a third uplink orthogonalresource from the plurality of uplink orthogonal resources; andreceiving the third uplink orthogonal resource of the plurality ofuplink orthogonal resources, the third uplink orthogonal resource beingselected according to the state of information bits to be communicatedby the UE device, wherein the second modulation symbol is transmitted onthe third uplink orthogonal resource on the second antenna of the UEdevice.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first uplink orthogonalresource and the second uplink orthogonal resource are both in the samephysical resource block.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the firstmodulation symbol is the same in all slots of a subframe, and the secondmodulation symbol is the same in all slots of the subframe.
 18. Themethod of claim 14, wherein, when the first modulation symbol isantipodal to a third modulation symbol, the second modulation symbol anda fourth modulation symbol being in quadrature, and wherein the firstand second modulation symbols are mapped to a first state of theinformation bits, a third and the fourth modulation symbols mapped to asecond state of the information bits, and the third and fourthmodulation symbols are transmitted on the first and second antennas ofthe UE device, respectively.